


with the beast inside, there’s nowhere we can hide (i wanna shelter you)

by blackrose1002



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Angst, Demons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mind Games, Mutual Pining, Self-Hatred
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 17:11:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20567930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackrose1002/pseuds/blackrose1002
Summary: Jack Dalton hated demons.He had been convinced nothing would ever change his mind until he had gotten to know one of them - a demon with a face of an angel, beautiful blue eyes and soft looking blond hair. Despite everything he knew about demons, everything he had been taught and everything he had read, Jack's training had failed him when he had encountered that particular creature.Jack Dalton hated demons.With the exception of Angus MacGyver.





	with the beast inside, there’s nowhere we can hide (i wanna shelter you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BlackVultures](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackVultures/gifts).

> Hello there!
> 
> It's me and... just me this time, shocking, I know! The thing is... it's Sammy's birthday in a few days and I decided to write her a fic as a gift, one that we discussed a looong time ago. I was planning to have it all written, but... do you have any idea how fucking hard it is for me to write fics by myself?! I honestly don't know how to do it anymore, it's a miracle I've managed to write anything _at all_, and that's why I decided to split the thing in two chapters.
> 
> I hope y'all like it, even though it's written only by myself. And for the love of god, Sammy, I hope _you_ like it, I've been writing this ONE chapter for two months. It nearly killed me, so appreciate the sacriface. Happy early birthday, babe ♥
> 
> The title is from the song "Demons" by Imagine Dragons.
> 
> Some of the dialogue was inspired by this [post](https://tomminowrites.tumblr.com/post/182640353991/demons-suggestion-from-theclassymike-yes) by the lovely [tommino](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tommino/pseuds/tommino). And I also screenshot one of her demon gifs to make the cover for the fic.
> 
> There are probably typos in this, I'm very sorry about that.

Jack Dalton hated demons.

They were despicable, vicious creatures that roamed the earth among humans, causing commotion, spreading panic, and inflicting pain. Their place was in Hell, but unfortunately some of them had found their way up and had no intention of going back unless someone decided to kick them back down where they belonged. They were disgusting and had no morals whatsoever, and all they craved was chaos.

They all looked like humans, and at first it was always difficult to recognize one unless you had years of experience. Some of them had something in their eyes that gave them away instantly. Others were beautiful, with gentle eyes and soft smiles on their faces, and there was something about them that made you trust them. Jack had been told and taught these demons were the most dangerous ones, deceiving and cunning, always ready to use their innocent looks to their advantage.

Jack Dalton hated demons.

He had been convinced nothing would ever change his mind until he had gotten to know one of them - a demon with a face of an angel, beautiful blue eyes and soft looking blond hair. Despite everything he knew about demons, everything he had been taught and everything he had read, Jack's training had failed him when he had encountered that particular creature.

Jack Dalton hated demons.

With the exception of Angus MacGyver.

~*~

It all had begun four years ago.

When Matty had announced a demon would be joining their team at the Phoenix Foundation, Jack had honestly thought she had been pranking him. Not only that, he was supposed to be Jack's partner, someone Jack would have to work with in the field, and Jack hadn't liked the idea at all. Sure, he had heard about demons that actually wanted to do something good for the world, use their uniqueness and powers for something positive, but he had never truly believed that. In his mind, demons were evil, and that was it.

While the rest of the team had been curious and eager to meet their new teammate, Jack had been seething. He had even pulled Matty aside, trying to explain how spectacularly bad idea it was, but she hadn't listened. She had claimed the demon would be an invaluable asset to the team, and Jack should suck it up, and not drive him away.

The next day Jack had been wary since the moment he had gotten to the Phoenix, mentally preparing himself for facing the demon... and he had been caught off guard when he had stepped into the war room and found Matty talking to someone who a few minutes later had turned out to be their new teammate. He... hadn't looked like Jack had expected - not with his blue eyes and blond hair, lean body and a young look on his face. He had looked about fifteen years younger than Jack if you measured age in human years, and if Jack hadn't known he was a demon, he would have never guessed it.

"Angus MacGyver," the demon had said with a friendly smile, offering Jack a hand to shake. "But call me Mac." Jack hadn't trusted him at all, not letting his pretty looks deceive him, but he had promised Matty he would behave.

So he had shaken the offered hand, looking the demon - Mac - up and down, reluctantly agreeing to give the kid a chance.

It didn't mean he had started to trust him right away; far from it. For the first weeks of their partnership Jack had remained distant, watching Mac's every move and waiting for him to slip up and reveal his true colors. But... it had never happened - Mac had been focused on the job since day one, listening attentively during the briefings, solving problems in the field, and chatting amicably with Riley, Bozer, Leanna, and Desi during their time off. More than once he had invited them all to hang out at his big house - where he had gotten it from, Jack had had no idea - and Jack had reluctantly gone every single time, drinking beers and eating Bozer's food on the deck by the fire, justifying it by wanting to keep an eye on the demon while the rest of their team had let their guards down.

And even though it had seemed like Mac was genuinely a nice guy without any ulterior motives, Jack had still been wary.

Until about two months into their partnership when Mac had saved his life during a long, nasty mission in Eastern Europe. And he hadn't saved him using hellfire or any other inhuman power - oh no, he had saved him using a paperclip, a duct tape and some kind of explosive that he had apparently cooked up while Jack had been busy trying to sweet talk the bad Ukrainian dude out of blowing his head off. Mac had showed up out of nowhere, detonating the bomb, punching the mobster in the face, and then he had grinned at Jack, pushing his hair out of his incredibly blue eyes.

"Not bad for a big bad demon, right?" he had asked with a smile on his face, and Jack had realized that Mac had known exactly how hesitant Jack had been about him. But he hadn't said anything, just kept working and doing his job, apparently opting to get Jack to accept him not with words, but actions.

And so on the plane back home while Mac had been engrossed in some kind of nerdy science book, Jack had been forced to reevaluate his opinions maybe not about demons in general, but most definitely about Mac.

Now, four years later, there Jack was: still working at the Phoenix Foundation, still chasing terrorists and other bad dudes all around the world, still partnered up with a demon. A demon who had not only become Jack's best friend, but also a person Jack trusted the most in the world and someone Jack would die for, no questions asked. A person that somehow had become Jack's favorite person right next to Riley, someone Jack had promised himself he would protect until his dying breath.

A person that Jack had been in love with since... he wasn't even sure.

Jack had done many dumb things in his life, he was the first to admit that, so it actually made sense that somehow he had fallen in love with a demon. It was ironic, really, that after being so adamant about hating demons and never trusting them Jack had fallen in love with one, but since it was him, Jack wasn't really that surprised.

Jack Dalton's life at its finest.

Jack wasn't even sure when or how it had happened - one minute he had been hanging out with his best friend, bickering and drinking beer, and then suddenly Jack had realized that Mac's laugh was his favorite sound in the world and that whenever he smiled that big, wide smile at him, Jack felt butterflies in his stomach.

It was about that time that Jack had realized he was absolutely screwed.

But as long as Mac never found about this, Jack would be fine. He had gotten quite good at hiding his feelings from the world, Mac especially, and he would be damned if he let them ruin what they had. He knew there was no chance for Mac to return his feelings, he had made his peace with it a long time ago. As far as he could tell Mac was straight since he had never showed any interest in dating men. Actually, he had never showed any interest in dating in general, but Jack figured it was because of the demon thing, even though he had heard of demons and humans giving relationships a try. That wouldn’t happen with him and Mac though, of that he was a hundred percent certain, but as long as Jack got to keep Mac in his life, in whatever capacity possible, he would be a happy man.

So Jack’s life kept going like that, working with Mac and protecting him from anything that had the potential to kill him, and then hanging out with him and the rest of the team after work. And if sometimes Jack let his gaze drop to Mac’s ass when nobody was looking, well, nobody needed to know about that.

~*~

Angus MacGyver hated demons.

He was aware it was a weird thing to say since he was a demon himself, but he absolutely meant it. He hated demons and that included himself.

Ever since he could remember, Mac had never fit in. He had never wanted to hurt people and make them miserable, he had never desired to bring chaos and pain to the human world. After seeing what other demons were capable of, Mac had realized that the world needed to be protected from them, and even though Mac himself was one of those despicable creatures… he had wanted to use his powers for something good. It hadn’t been easy since the humans were pretty adamant about not trusting demons and Mac couldn’t blame them – they had good reasons for that. Among the demons Mac wasn’t a very popular person either, he was considered a traitor and a human lover, but Mac had never minded.

It had made him awfully lonely, though.

But then, four years ago, he had joined the Phoenix Foundation. He had been contacted by Matilda Webber, the director of the Phoenix who had apparently heard about him and that he was one of the demons that were actually trying to help the world instead of trying to destroy it. Once he had heard her offer, he had accepted almost right away. After all, helping people was exactly what he had always wanted.

Truth to be told, Mac hadn’t been sure what to expect after meeting the team for the first time, but he had been pleasantly surprised. Everyone had seemed nice and welcomed him with open arms, not even commenting on the fact that he was a demon and Mac had appreciated it. The only person that had been a bit less than welcoming was Mac’s new partner, Jack Dalton, who had been polite, but Mac had seen it in his eyes immediately – he hadn’t trusted Mac, not even a bit. But Mac had just smiled, shook his hand, knowing that empty words wouldn’t convince Jack that he was one of the good guys – he would have to prove it by doing his job and Mac had been fully prepared to do just that.

And now, four years later, Mac found himself having a _family_, something he had never thought he would be able to have. They all accepted him for what he was, even Jack – after a few months of a tentative partnership Jack had finally warmed up to him and started to trust him – they had been inseparable ever since. Despite everyone’s acceptance, Mac still did his best to seem human as much as he could. He rarely let his eyes flash black unless he was completely alone, he didn’t use his demonic strength or speed unless it was absolutely necessary, not to even mention the hellfire. He didn’t talk about it and even when they would come across another demon, Mac wouldn’t make himself known. He tried to tell himself that it was for the benefit of others, but the truth was… Mac was scared. He was scared that if he reminded them too often that he wasn’t human, eventually they would realize that maybe hanging out with a demon wasn’t such a good idea. Plus, Mac hated everything that came with being a demon, he hated his abilities and hated himself – he was a monster, nothing more, so hiding it from the others and himself sometimes allowed him to forget what he truly was, even if just for a short moment.

Keeping his demon side away had become particularly important when Mac was with Jack, which really meant most of the time, because usually where Mac went Jack followed as well. Mac knew Jack’s opinion about demons, he knew Jack didn’t trust them, and he also knew that somehow he had become the exception for Jack’s rule, so it was important to him to not make Jack uncomfortable by showing off his demon traits too much and risk scaring him away.

Especially since Mac was hopelessly, utterly, and completely in love with Jack, and losing him would probably destroy Mac.

Mac wasn’t an idiot and he knew he would never get to be together with Jack. Mac was a demon and Jack was a human, and while Mac had heard of demons and humans sleeping together, he had never heard of anyone actually trying to make that kind of a relationship worked. Just sleeping with Jack wasn’t an option, because it would just break Mac’s heart and destroy their friendship if anything went wrong or if they decided to end it once Jack met someone he would actually like to date. Besides, it was pointless for Mac to even consider this as a possibility – Jack had never showed any signs of being anything but straight, and there was nothing Mac could do about that. At this point all Mac wanted was to keep Jack in his life. He didn’t think he could actually live without Jack, he didn’t want to, not anymore.

But as long as he had Jack, even as a friend only, he would be okay.

~*~

“Alright, guys, listen up,” Matty said as she walked into the war room where everyone was waiting for her. “Something came up and you’re not going to like it.”

“Matty, you really need to work on your delivery methods,” Jack drawled from where he was sprawled on one of the chairs, and Mac had to bite his bottom lip to stop himself from chuckling. “It ain’t good if you start with the bad news right away, be more gentle, ease it in-“

“You done, Dalton?” Matty arched her eyebrow, shooting Jack a serious, deadly glare, one that never failed to shut him up, and it instantly made Mac tense. While Matty was always serious and firm when it came to their missions, the expression on her face right now was the one that appeared very rarely – usually when big trouble was coming and shit was about to go down. “I’ve been contacted by a guard from one of the Phoenix black sites. Apparently Murdoc has decided to talk.”

Mac tensed the second the name fell from Matty’s lips. Murdoc was a demon they had finally captured and locked up a few months ago after months of mind games and chasing him around. Murdoc was definitely one of the most vicious and ruthless demons Mac had ever encountered, smart and cunning, and who had been killing both humans and demons roaming on Earth simply for fun and entertainment. He was everything Mac was not and for some reason Murdoc had found it utterly fascinating, treating Mac as some kind of riddle he desperately needed to solve. He had gotten under Mac’s skin so badly a few times that Mac had almost lost control and showed too much, barely stopping himself from revealing his true face in front of the team. Once Murdoc had been locked up, Mac had been finally able to breathe easily, but it seemed like the sociopathic demon was about to ruin his day again.

“What’s the catch?” Desi asked, eyebrow arched and arms crossed over her chest. “There’s no way he just decided to talk more about his victims. There’s gotta be more.”

“There is,” Matty said slowly before turning her gaze to Mac, an apologetic look in her eyes. “He said he would talk… but to Mac only. With no one else in the room.”

“Hell no,” Jack immediately protested, getting up from the chair, his voice low and dark, and Mac definitely should _not_ be thinking about how attractive that was. “He’s not getting anywhere near that son of a-“

“I’ll do it,” Mac said, cutting Jack off and watching him turn around so quickly he almost lost his balance. Jack opened his mouth to argue, but Mac just looked at him pleadingly. “Jack, this… this is important. It’s not like we have any other choice.” Mac sighed, ignoring the uneasy feeling in his stomach at the thought of facing Murdoc again. “Besides, knowing you, you’ll be right there watching everything from behind the glass. I’ll be fine.”

“Of course I’ll be right there watchin’ everything,” Jack immediately said, looking at Mac with a worried gaze. “You sure you’re gonna be alright, hoss? I know how much you hate that creep.”

“I’ll be fine,” Mac repeated, giving Jack what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Now come on, let’s go.”

And as they were walking in the direction of the elevator to take them down to the garage, Mac did his best to ignore the very bad feeling spreading through his chest. He couldn’t help but think that it was too… easy, too simple for Murdoc to just suddenly want to talk, but there was only one way to find out what Murdoc truly wanted.

And Mac only hoped he would be strong enough to make it through it.

~*~

Taking one last deep breath, Mac rolled his shoulders a little, clenching his hands in tight fists before relaxing them completely. Bracing himself, he opened the steel, reinforced door and stepped into the dark interrogation room, willing his heart to keep a steady pace.

“Hello, MacGyver,” Murdoc said with a cheerful smile on his face, looking like Christmas came early for him. “My favorite human lover. I’m so glad you could make it.” He was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, completely relaxed, with his cuffed hands resting folded in his lap. Usually they wouldn’t do much to restrain a demon as powerful as Murdoc, but thanks to the pentagrams engraved on the floor _and _the ceiling Murdoc couldn’t get out of the room anyway.

“Heard you wanted to talk.” Mac stood in a safe distance from the pentagrams, so they wouldn’t affect him, and crossed his arms, watching Murdoc with what he hoped was a neutral look on his face. “So talk.”

“Straight to the business, I see.” Murdoc tilted his head a little, his dark eyes regarding Mac curiously. “Where’s your pitbull? I was under the impression that he’s always at your heel.” Mac felt his blood boil, but forced himself to stay still at the mention of Jack, not wanting to give Murdoc the satisfaction. “I’m guessing he’s behind the glass? There’s no way he would have let you come alone.” The smile on Murdoc’s face widened, and he turned his head to look at the glass separating the interrogation room from the small observation room. “Jack. I hope you’re enjoying the show.”

“You said you had some information to share,” Mac said, taking a step closer to Murdoc. “If you’re not going to talk, you’re just wasting my time.”

“Oh, sexy.” Murdoc leaned closer, his eyes glinting as he looked Mac up and down. “I love when you get so serious, it’s a nice look on you. Very… arousing.” Murdoc’s voice dropped lower, and Mac felt himself shudder, not liking the way Murdoc was staring at him at all. And while he couldn’t see or hear Jack, he knew he was probably seething in the observation room, but since there was no banging on the glass, he seemed to be controlling himself for now. “But before we get to that sharing you mentioned… how about we chat for a while, hmm? Nobody wants to talk to me around here, so you can imagine how a nice demon like me may grow a little bored.” Murdoc actually pouted, shifting on the chair and leaning back, and Mac gritted his teeth. He was aware he was being dragged into another one of Murdoc’s games, but he didn’t really see any other choice – if he wanted to get anything out of him, he would have to play along, and talking… talking was fine, right? There was no harm in talking as long as Mac kept his cool and didn’t let Murdoc get under his skin.

“So,” Murdoc started with a grin, apparently taking Mac’s silence as a sign to continue. “What have you been up to lately? Any exciting missions? Any fascinating villains like yours truly?”

“You surely think highly of yourself,” Mac remarked dryly, arching his eyebrow. “But no. Nothing special.”

“Oh, how _boring_,” Murdoc sighed, a slightly whiny note to his voice. “Alrighty then, let’s change a subject. How is such a pretty demon like you enjoying his life on Earth?”

Mac tensed a little at Murdoc saying out loud he was a demon. He knew Jack was watching, but he hoped it didn’t bother him too much. “It’s fine,” he replies curtly, but something in his voice must have given away his unwillingness to talk about it, because a slow smile appeared on Murdoc’s face, all of his teeth on display. 

“You know, you’re not very popular among our kind,” he mused, his black human eyes watching Mac like a hawk, and well, he wasn’t saying anything Mac already wasn’t aware of. “And I imagine humans aren’t too fond of you either. After all, you _are _a demon, although I don’t think you like it very much, hmm?” Murdoc tilted his head again. “We’ve met quite a few times, yet I’ve never seen any of your demonic… traits.”

Mac swallowed hard, but managed to keep any kind of emotion from showing on his face. He knew humans preferred to stay away from demons with the exception of the ones actively hunting them to send them back to Hell. And while Mac didn’t care about what most people thought about him, he did care about the people at the Phoenix – his family – and the fear of them cutting ties with him one day was ever present inside of him, ingrained so deeply that Mac managed to easily ignore it on a daily basis. “What’s your point, Murdoc?” he asked, his voice miraculously steady, even though his heart was racing at this point.

“My point is… all these people you surrounded yourself with, they must really care about you if they’ve let you hang around for… what is it, four years now?” Murdoc wondered, but it was all for show – Murdoc knew exactly how long Mac had been working at the Phoenix Foundation, he had already thrown it in his face during one of their previous meetings. “Surely your team knows the risks of working with demons like you and me?” Mac froze as Murdoc stood up, taking a few steps in Mac’s direction until he was standing on the edge of pentagram. “Ticking time bombs, just waiting to lose control.” Even though he knew Murdoc was just trying to mess with him, for the first time in _years_ Mac felt his control starting to slip a little. He took a deep breath and kept his arms crossed, nails digging in one of his forearms in an effort to keep himself calm. “I wonder if Jack will even have time to scream…”

And just like that, Mac lost it. In the blink of an eye all of his control was gone, the restraint he had been working on maintaining for years vanishing in a split second. His eyes flashed black and he lunged forward, snarling at Murdoc, barely stopping himself at the edge of the pentagram. His fingers were itching with the urge to blast hellfire, and he stood right in front of Murdoc, growling quietly, and if it wasn’t for the pentagrams he would be pinning Murdoc against the wall. “Ahhh, now _there_ you are! The real you,” Murdoc says gleefully, grinning widely at Mac, and that pleased expression on his face was what brought Mac back. Gasping, he stumbled back until his back hit the opposite wall and he blinked a few times until his eyes turned blue again. “We’re both monsters, MacGyver. You just hide it better.” Murdoc grinned before slowly taking a few steps back and sitting down on his chair.

Mac stared at Murdoc with wide eyes, panting heavily and he didn’t even bother to hide how badly his hands were trembling – Murdoc knew exactly he had rattled Mac, trying to hide it would only make the sociopath happier. He couldn’t even argue with Murdoc, deny his words and defend himself – not when what Murdoc was saying was absolutely true. Mac was a monster, he knew that, and he had been hiding it from everyone, from Jack… _oh no._

His sudden realization must have showed on his face, because the grin on Murdoc’s face turned smug, his eyes narrowing. “Oh, Angus,” he cooed, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward, looking at Mac sympathetically. “You didn’t really think you’d be able to hide from him forever, right? You were bound to slip sooner or later… and now he saw exactly what you are.” Mac felt his eyes burn, so he blinked rapidly, trying not to let them fill with tears, but judging by how his vision started blurring, it wasn’t working. “He’s never going to want you after this.”

Breathing was getting harder and Mac stifled a whimper as he scrambled in the direction of the door. He could hear some shuffling in the observation room behind the wall – Jack, probably trying to get away, as far as he could from Mac – and Mac had to go, he couldn’t stay there any longer. Ignoring Murdoc’s maniacal laughter sounding behind him, he swung the door open and ran out to the hallway at the same time as Jack rushed out from the observation room.

But Mac couldn’t face him, not after everything that had just happened. He couldn’t see the disgust on Jack’s face, he couldn’t listen to Jack tell him to get out and never come back, so before Jack even said anything, Mac started running, using his demonic speed and getting out of the black site in the blink of an eye. He wasn’t sure how long he was running, but when he finally stopped he found himself in the middle of the woods. He knew he had to be miles away from the black site, so there was no risk of Jack catching up with him any time soon – but just in case he immediately turned his phone off, not wanting anyone to try to find him. For the next few hours he just wandered around with his heart breaking and tears streaming down his cheeks – he had destroyed everything, he had ruined the best thing he had in his life. Not only had he lost Jack, he had also inevitably lost everyone else from the Phoenix – Jack had surely told them what happened and they had probably watched the surveillance video from the interrogation room.

Murdoc had gotten what he had so desperately wanted – he had broken Mac beyond repair.

Eventually, Mac turned his phone back on – he had to start figuring out where to go next now that there was no place for him in Los Angeles anymore. Almost immediately tons of messages and missed calls showed up on his screen – from Matty and Riley, but not from Jack, which wasn’t surprising at all. Right away, his phone started ringing again, Matty’s name flashing on the screen, and after a few seconds of hesitation, Mac sighed and answered the call, “Matty, look-“

“Blondie, I don’t know where the fuck you ran off to, but you need to get back to the black site right now,” Matty interjected, her voice urgent and worried, and what she said next made Mac’s blood freeze: “It’s Jack. Murdoc attacked him.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please, leave a comment if you enjoyed it! ♥


End file.
